Looking for a movie to watch on dvd or Blu-ray?
Here's our thoughts on movies (both new and old) that you can rent or buy. We update this page with each movie we see.
July
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse *: (B-) Eclipse is a movie all about making choices...and pretty people diving through the air. In all seriousness though, this movie was surprisingly better than the first two movies in the Twilight saga (read my review of the first two here). It was very well paced and fleshed out many of the characters through meaningful dialogue and backstory. The relationships between Edward and Jacob as well as Bella and Rosalie were explored, which I found very interesting. This movie lost a lot of the fake plasticy look it had in the other two films as well. However, the acting still remains quite stiff, with only a few moments of good performance coming out of each actor. Overall It's just an OK movie. Nothing really stood out to me as great. It seems however that each Twilight film improves upon the last. We'll just have to wait to test my theory when Breaking Dawn Part 1 comes out in November of next year. -MV
June
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan: (A) Being a big fan of Dylan's work, I really enjoyed learning about the man behind the music, and found it very intriguing to witness his transformation throughout the years. For those that are not familiar with the music of Bob Dylan (first of all, please listen to him. He is, in my opinion, a lyrical genius.) don't worry. I believe Dylan's life is interesting enough to captivate even a watcher who is not familiar with his work. All in all a great documentary. -MV
Shutter Island: (B) Shutter Island is a mind-bending movie that is very interesting to watch. It keeps you asking questions and is chock full of good performances, even though at times the constant cryptic vague dialogue and loud eerie music are overdone as if to remind us for some reason that we are watching a psychological thriller. Overall though, it is an enjoyable film. -MV
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters: (A+) This is the best documentary I believe I've ever seen. It immerses you in the foreign and seemingly trivial world of competitive gaming, and makes you feel for these people. It has such a clear narrative structure, that at times, it is hard to believe what's happening is actually real life. A touching and entertaining film, that any documentary lover should watch. -MV
Rope: (A+) Hitchcock's directorial ingenuity and genius really shine through in this beautiful, and captivating film. Rope is filmed as one continuous, fluid scene. There are only 10 cuts (barely noticeable) in the entire film. It's just this one wonderfully staged opera of suspense and philosophy that flows so perfectly. There are great performances as well. Especially from James Stewart. I whole-heartedly recommend this movie to those that haven't seen it. And for those who have, watch it again. I know I will. -MV
May
Fargo: (A) An original and intriguing story. Things start to snowball out of control quickly for Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), who has to cover up his tracks and lie to keep people from finding out about his "innocent" plan to hold his own wife for ransom. His plan sets up desperate situations that cause desperate people to do desperate things. Eventually, it drastically effects the lives of more people than he imagined, including himself. This dark comedy is a very entertaining and shocking film that's full of great performances by nearly the entire cast. -MV
The Informant!: (B-) I really didn't have any problems with this movie. However, it didn't stand out to me as anything special. I enjoyed it, minus the fact that it seemed a bit long and drawn out, even at an hour and a half length. Matt Damon was just great in it. I think he should be doing more projects like this that show how versatile of an actor he really is. There's not much wrong with it, but I don't have a ton of great things to say about it either. -MV
Serpico: (A-) Serpico is a phenomenal character study of a man who seems to be the only honest guy around. Sidney Lumet and the two screenwriters did a great job at crafting a protagonist who we support and sympathize with. Al Pacino turns out an awesome performance (as always) as the honorable cop, Frank Serpico in this classic movie that (just like it's protagonist) works to shed light on corruption in high places. -MV
Children Of Men: (A) I was very surprised at this movie. It was much more than I thought it would be. It works off of a very intriguing concept, and pulls it off perfectly. The director creates one of the most realistic and believable futures I've ever seen depicted on film. The movie is perfectly paced and the cinematography is to die for. I watched in admiration at this movie, noticing the insane amount of planning that went into it. There are many shots that last several minutes continuously and move throughout the action, gracefully. It seems that when there is not dialogue on screen, the camera barely ever cuts. The characters are journeying through this dangerous terrain, and by all the chaos happening in the background of nearly every shot, we realize they are being put in the middle of something horrible. Despite a few minor problems like my dislike of Clive Owen (who's basically an empty shell), this movie was very well-made, and I recommend it. -MV
The Pianist: (A) You can't watch this film and not compare it to Schindler's List. Personally, I loved The Pianist, and found it more compelling and human than Schindler's List. It takes us through what it was like to struggle to survive during the Holocaust. It humanizes the Jews and really strikes fear and suspense into the hearts of the viewers on a much greater scale than SL does. Although SL is a great movie, it is more sterile-feeling, which doesn't work for me as well as this compelling and moving film. There were many parts that just blew me away with their shear awesomeness, but I won't go into specifics. So yet again, nice work Roman Polanski! -MV
Moon: (B) Moon is a sci-fi thinker that gets in your head. It does a great job at emphasizing isolation, so that the audience feels like they too are on the moon...alone. I see a promising career ahead for director, Duncan Jones, who proves himself to be a great storyteller with this movie. Also, after seeing this I am thoroughly convinced that Sam Rockwell is indeed an amazing actor. You'll know what I mean, when you see this. However, I felt like more could have been done with the premise of the film. Also, the similarities between this film, and 2001: A Space Odyssey lead me to compare the two while watching it. And obviously, this film is dwarfed in comparison. -MV
Goodfellas: (A+) This is probably the best film of the nineties. It is my second favorite film of Scorsese's (second, of course, to Martin Scorsese's 1976 masterpiece, Taxi Driver). The one most notable thing I want to mention is the film's opening. It begins with an act of brutal violence that sets up the tone for the rest of the movie so that even at the film's lightest moments you know that in this world, in the blink of an eye, things can turn bloody. Without this opening, the movie wouldn't be the same. This feeling of tension is carried throughout the movie and impregnates every dialogue we see. And the feeling amplifies every moment that Joe Pesci's character is on screen. He embodies pure recklessness and disregard for human life. Pesci pulls off a great performance, and so does nearly everyone in the film. It takes us through three decades in the crime world, and as time goes on the stakes get higher and higher, and the protagonist sinks lower and lower. A must-see movie for any lover of crime movies, movies in general, or...life. -MV
Zack and Miri Make a Porno: (C-) Kevin Smith needs to learn to stop trying to add plot to his movies. The only movie of his I really liked was Clerks, simply because it knew what it was: a movie with no plot, completely based on amusing conversations between two friends. And it worked. This doesn't. Smith tries too hard to make plot when he shouldn't be, and ends up with a predictable movie whose dialogue (Smith's strong suit in my opinion) suffers as well. It has some funny parts, but as a whole, the movie is not what I had hoped.
Robin Hood*: Ridley Scott's brilliant directing vision, seen so apparently through his films such as Blade Runner, Alien and Gladiator, is still there he just hasn't tapped into it for his last five or six films. And this is clear in his latest film collaboration with Russell Crow, Robin Hood. -MC
Iron Man 2*: (B-) I disagree with my co-reviewer on this one (See his in-depth review here). He really didn't like this film. He basically said it had bad acting and a weak plot, and that the character of Justin Hammer (played by Sam Rockwell) was unnecessary. I however, think that Iron Man 2 is one of the best-acted superhero movies there are, especially because of Sam Rockwell's performance as the corporate sleaze, Justin Hammer. He pulls the role off quite nicely. And of course there's the always entertaining, Robert Downey Jr, who doesn't disappoint. The action is fun and the pacing is decent. However, the plot is just too jam-packed with stuff. The movie is trying too hard to top the original and in doing this, it fails. Also, the ending is so rushed I nearly missed it when I blinked. Despite some plot holes, and short comings to the first installment (as well as the fact that it's basically a two hour commercial for the Avengers), Iron Man 2 is an acceptably entertaining and well-acted action movie sequel. Don't forget to stay after the credits though. - MV
April
A Clockwork Orange: (A) A brutal and malicious depiction of how savage human nature truly is. Though the cinematography is rather simple, the ideas, images and actions are as colorful and thought provoking as possible. Malcolm McDowell gives a haunting and forceful performance of a lifetime. He made the character the classic icon it is today. I believe Alex is the greatest character in any Kubrick film. The story itself is filled with with terror, savagery but most of all irony. Alex commits horrible monstrosities just to have them turned back on him by the very people he committed them towards in the first place. Certain scenes and props are so classic and memorable, which is why Kubrick's films are so epic and will always be remembered. -MC
Magnolia: (B) Magnolia is a thought provoking movie, that consists of many parts and stories that all tie together in the end. It tackles the ideas of forgiveness, tragedy, sickness, love, loneliness, and mostly regret. There's a line that's spoken at least a couple of times in the movie, "What have I done?" This line applies, at least at one time or another, to every character in the film, and sums up a lot of the it's tone. Unfortunately the movie seems all over the place at times and seems to try and cover too many themes. It lacks a central focus, and suffers because of this. It is my least favorite Paul Thomas Anderson film, but still an enjoyable and interesting time. - MV
Whip it: (C+) A fun but predictable film whose second Act is much better than its first. Good performances by Ellen Page and Kristen Wigg, but other than that, most of the acting seemed forced. A lot of the dialogue was clunkilly written and blatantly expository. However, it is a watchable debut film from new director Drew Barrymore, and I’ll cut it some slack. -MV
M: (A+) A masterpiece. Ridiculously modern, captivating, and visually intriguing for 1931. Full of symbolism, and camera and storytelling techniques that were way ahead it's time. In Lang's first movie in sound, he utilizes the new storytelling tool very well, making one of the first films to use sound that carries on into the next scene as well as narration, which were unheard of at the time. A nearly perfect film, especially taking into account the time in which it was made. -MV
Fight Club: (A-) A very interesting, and well thought out story. It has a cool look and kept me watching.The characters are wonderfully crafted, and entertaining. It gets kind of wacky and unreasonable at times, but in the film’s ending, we find justification for this. The story is told in a way that feels almost like you're reading a novel. I haven't read the book, but for this reason, I bet it's a pretty respectable adaptation. Overall, it’s a well written and well acted movie, that will take you for a ride. - MV
*In theaters
